Misunderstood Guardian
by Azura5
Summary: Gerald is a retired bounty hunter with a dark and mysterious past. So what are the turtles to do when Bryan comes back to the lair alive with this scary man in tow? Splinter seems to accept him, but will the turtles? And where did he get all those scars?
1. Raphael's Discovery

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 1

For weeks Mikey kept himself locked in his room, not talking to anyone else. He would just lie on his bed either staring blankly at the ceiling or crying softly in to his pillow.

Bryan was dead and he didn't even get to say goodbye. They had returned to inspect the charred remnants of Dominick's castle and to search for the Homunculus' remains the next day, but they came up with nothing; everything had been completely incinerated in the blaze.

There came a knock at Mikey's door but the turtle didn't make any move to answer it. He just curled himself in to a tight ball.

"Mikey, open up!" It was Raph. "You have to eat – please! I know you're grieving over the loss of Bryan but is this what he would have wanted you to do? To hide yourself from the rest of the world and starve yourself?"

"Just go away, Raph… go away and let me die… It's better than living in a world without Bryan…" Tears welled in the orange bandana clad turtle's eyes. "We should have done something… we shouldn't have just left him."

"Mikey, please…" There was desperation in the older turtle's voice, something you didn't hear very often coming from Raph. "We're still here for you – your family – we want to help you through this…" When he didn't get a response from the other, the red bandana clad turtle sighed, setting the tray of food he had been holding on the floor beside the door and left.

Walking in to the kitchen Leo, Don, and Gina stood up from the table looking at Raphael hopefully.

Looking at them, Raph sighed, the others sitting back down looking dejected. "He just won't listen. I just – I just don't know what to do." The turtle sat down at the table, placing his face in his hands. "But he's right… we should have done something; we shouldn't have just left him."

"Don't start this up, Raph," Leo frowned, "You know there was nothing we could do. We didn't stand a chance against Dominick!"

"Well, that's just it Leo, we didn't even try!" Raphael shot back, staring up at his older brother. "If we attacked him all at once we could have overpowered him!"

"Please guys don't fight…" Gina pleaded. "This isn't going to bring Bryan back or help Mikey in the slightest… What's past is past and now we have to concentrate on the present. We have a very sick turtle that – if we don't figure out a way to help – is going to end up starving himself to death."

"Gina's right… if worse comes to worse we might have to force Mikey out of his room. He can't continue doing this to himself," Don said.

"Whatever, I'm out of here." Getting up, Raph began to don on his street clothes.

"You can't leave Raph, we need you here!" Leo got up, grabbing the red bandana clad turtle's arm.

"Let go of my arm, Leo," Raphael hissed, wrenching his arm away from the other. "Don't even try ordering me around." With that, he stormed out of the lair.

* * *

Raph walked down the city street grumbling quietly to himself. He wished he knew how to help Mikey. It hurt him so much to see the once bright and chipper turtle reduced to this. And Leo – that turtle really knew how to piss Raph off. What was he doing to try and help Mikey?

The hotheaded turtle was too busy with his own thoughts that he wasn't looking where he was going and ended up bumping in to someone in a long trench coat with a hood over their head. "Watch where you're going ya stupid—!" Raphael stopped short when he thought he saw a flash of orange-yellow cat ears. The person pulled the hood tightly around his face but he knew what he had seen. "Bryan…?"

The person ran and the turtle followed quickly behind. He kept on the figure's tail, bobbing and weaving between bystanders always making sure he didn't lose sight of him. That's when he saw it, a tail poking out from under the trench coat and he knew for certain it had to be Bryan.

Raph saw the other bolt down an alley way and he quickly followed him only to discover he had disappeared. The alley came to a dead end, so where could Bryan have gone? Looking up, the turtle saw he was right underneath the fire escape of an apartment building. Figuring that's where the neko-boy had disappeared to, he jumped up, grabbing on to the ladder and climbed up to a window, which was open.

Quietly entering the building he looked around; there was no sign of anyone. "Maybe that wasn't him… maybe I'm just going insane and I imagined seeing Bryan…"

"Who is that? What are you doing in my apartment?"

Startled, Raph turned to see man who looked to be in his early 40's standing with a gun in his hand. He was dark skinned, probably African-American; he had ash brown hair that reached down to his back, the bangs completely covering his eyes. He wore black jeans and a lose, white blouse that was open to expose his chest to reveal long jagged scars; the sleeves were rolled up to reveal more scars on his left arm and to the turtle's amazement, the man had a robotic right arm that would have made Don envious. There were also scars on his face as well.

"I asked a question, who are you and what are you doing in my apartment??" The man cocked the gun, the movement causing some of his bangs to shift to the side to reveal one of his eyes. It was a grayish blue color; the man was blind.

"Gerald, put the gun away, he's… a friend…"

"Are you sure, Bryan? He smells kind of funny – like he came out of the sewers." The man called Gerald lowered his gun but still kept a firm grip on it just in case.

Raph stared in shock as Bryan came in to view, pulling the hood down. "Bryan… I-I thought you were dead…"

"I really thought I was going to die…" Bryan started, "I thought it was the end for me and I was ready to accept that fate as long as I knew you, Michelangelo and the others were safe. I remember Rage going super nova and then everything went dark. Then the next thing I knew I woke up face down in the woods. I've been staying here with Gerald ever since."

A mix of emotions surfaced inside the turtle; First relief and joy that the neko-boy truly wasn't dead, then confusion, and finally anger and betrayal. "Why didn't you come back?! Why have you been hiding from us?!" Raphael lunged forward, grabbing Bryan by the collar of his trench coat. He heard the click of a gun behind him.

"Gerald, don't. I didn't come back because I thought it would be better this way. I've caused so much trouble for your family and I—." Bryan took in a shaky breath turning his gaze away from the other. "Well let's just say Mikey is a whole lot better off without me."

"You idiot… you stupid idiot! Mikey has been locked away in his room starving himself because he thinks you're dead! He thinks it's his fault and now he's punishing himself and the rest of his family!"

Bryan looked back at the turtle, eyes widening. "Take me to him."


	2. Bryan and Mikey Reunited, Meeting Gerald

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 2

"Raph, where have you been??" That was the first thing Leo asked his rogue brother when he returned to the lair.

"Coming across a very shocking discovery…" As Raph said this, Bryan walked in causing the blue bandana clad turtle to nearly faint.

"B-B-Bryan?! You're alive?"

The neko-boy looked sheepishly at the other. "I'm sorry… I didn't think I deserved to be a part of your family and—." Before Bryan could finish what he was saying he found himself being engulfed in a hug, Leo shaking.

"I can't believe it… I really can't believe it… You're really alive. This is really unbelievable!"

"Careful there Leo, you're going to crush the kid if you're not careful."

Leo nodded at Raph, slowly letting Bryan go. "Yeah, sorry… Mikey will be so happy to see you, Bryan… I'm glad you're back. We've all missed you terribly."

"What's going on?" Don asked him and Gina walking in to the living room together. They gasped when they saw Bryan and they rushed over asking a million questions at the same time.

Gerald walked in to hear the commotion going on and sighed. "Enough! Give Bryan some fucking breathing space!"

The uproar came to an abrupt stop as they all turned to stare Gerald.

"Bryan… who's the tall black man?" Don asked cautiously. "And who designed his robotic arm?"

"Guys… this is Gerald; he's an old friend of mine."

"Come on, Bryan, I'll take you to Mikey," Raph said and he and Bryan left the living room. When they reached Mikey's room, the other turtle knocked on the door. "Yo, Mike, there's some one here to see you."

"Go away…"

"Please Mikey; I'm sorry for being so selfish. I'm sorry for putting you through so much pain. I thought you would be better off without me so I didn't come back. If – if I had known I had done this to you I—"

At first there was silence, then suddenly the door swung open and Mikey stared at Bryan in complete shock. For a while he just stood there, staring at the other. "Bryan… is this another dream or are you really here?" He reached out touching the neko-boy's cheek. When he realized Bryan was still there and hadn't disappeared in a puff of smoke like in so many of his dreams, he threw his arms around the other, crying. "Bryan, you're really alive!"

Bryan clung tightly to the orange bandana clad turtle. "I'm so sorry... I put your family though so much and… now I've hurt you even more… I'm a terrible person…" Tears ran down the boy's face.

"Dude… that's not true. I finally understand it now… I thought what I was feeling was wrong but when I thought I had lost you – I thought I was going to die. I love you Bryan. I love you more than comic books… Don't ever, ever leave me again…"

"I love you too… and I promise I will never ever leave you as long as I live."

Raph crept away seeing he should give the two their privacy. When he got back to the living room he saw Gerald sitting on the couch, the others making sure to keep their distance except for Don who on occasion tried to take close-up peeks at the other's robotic arm.

"So… you're a retired bounty hunter…?" Leo asked, pulling Don back when he tried to poke Gerald's arm.

The older male nodded. "And you guys are mutated turtles who were taught the way of the ninja with a rat master?"

"Basically."

"So, I guess the lovers have been reunited?" Gerald suddenly asked, turning to look in Raph's direction. "Then I guess I'll be on my way."

"So wait… you're just going to leave?" Raph arched a brow at the other.

"Bryan doesn't need me anymore… I don't belong here… Plus, I don't think your eldest brother or girlfriend want me to stay here for much longer. Plus the younger one keeps eyeing my mechanical arm and making me nervous."

"Don't you at least want to say goodbye to Bryan? I mean… you guys are friends, aren't you?"

"I don't do well with goodbyes…" Gerald went to leave when suddenly Splinter appeared in the entrance way. "Excuse me…"

"I insist you stay, Gerald-san. Please, I am sure Bryan would want you to stay." The elderly rat had heard everything that had went on but had just decided to show himself.

"Master Splinter, you would allow this man to stay in our home? Why?" Leonardo stared at his father in shock.

"No, I can't stay, I really must be going."

Gerald tried again to leave but Splinter grabbed his arm, staring up at him. "I sense much pain in you Gerald-san. So many unhealed wounds… so many conflicting emotions… I want to help you. You do not have to be alone in your struggles."

The retired bounty hunter frowned. "Let me go, old man, what do you know of my struggles? I work alone, okay? I don't need anyone's help."

"That's where you're wrong, everyone needs help…"

"Please, Gerald, stay for me?" Bryan walked in to the living room holding on to Mikey's hand, staring at the older male pleadingly.

Gerald sighed. "Fine, I'll stay, but only for a week and then I'm out of here."

* * *

That night, Mikey and Bryan were in bed together, snuggled up comfortably under the sheets. "I hope Gerald and the others will get along well."

The turtle sweatdropped. "He is kind of scary looking… He's like Raph to the tenth power."

The neko-boy whined, tugging on the other's arm. "Come on, Mikey, he's really a great guy once you get to know him! He may look tough and mean on the outside but deep down he's just a softie."

Mikey stared at his new-found lover, and then grinned, nuzzling his cheek. "Okay, I'll give him a chance, but only because you asked so nicely."

"Yay!" Bryan cheered. Leaning over, he kissed the turtle chastely on the lips and was about to lie back down to go to sleep when the other suddenly grabbed him.

"You're not getting away with that flimsy kiss. You're going to have to make up for the time you were gone."

Bryan stared up with mock innocence. "Oh my… I'm sorry."

"You should be." Mikey leaned forward, kissing the neko-boy passionately on the lips.


	3. A Rocky Beginning

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 3

Gerald was the first up due to the fact he hadn't slept a wink last night. When he realized he wouldn't be getting any sleep, he had spent most of the night mapping out the layout of the turtle's lair using touch. By five in the morning he was pretty sure he had it memorized.

Making his way to what he discovered was the dojo; he began to do his morning stretches. He may be retired and getting along in age, but it would be a cold day in Hell when he would let his body go. He wanted to stay as flexible as when he was twenty.

An hour later he sensed the turtle known as Leonardo walk in. "Hmm, I'm surprised to see someone else up before me," the blue bandana clad turtle said as he retrieved his Katanas and began his morning exercises.

"Couldn't sleep..."

"Oh, well I'm sorry our humble accommodations weren't up to your standards." There was harsh bite to the turtle's words.

Gerald stopped short and slowly turned to look in Leonardo's direction. For a while there was just silence. Then he said, "Excuse me, but the narrow-mindedness has become a bit thick in here."

Leo stopped short in the middle of a kata to glare after the older male as he left.

Gerald was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when Splinter walked in. "I heard you didn't sleep last night, anything wrong, Gerald-san?" he asked, sitting next to the other.

The retired bounty hunter groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Please don't call me that anymore; it's what my ex-wife used to call me."

The elderly rat tilted his head to the side. "You were married? Does being reminded of your wife hurt you?"

Gerald shook his head. "No, no… it's not that. It's just annoying is all…" He stared down at his coffee mug. "She and I both decided it was time to end the relationship. She and my son are both better off without me holding them back."

Splinter's eyes widened for a split second then he asked, "Do you miss your son?"

"Don't do this to me…"

"Do what?" The elderly rat looked at him questioningly.

"Don't go all psycho-analytical on me. First you'll just ask me simple questions like how well I slept and then when you've got me talking you'll get me to talk about my feelings and how when I was a boy my father abused me –!" The words were already out of Gerald's mouth before he could stop himself.

"I-I've got to go…" he stammered, quickly getting up, nearly knocking over his chair and hastened out of the room. He couldn't believe he had just said that – and to a complete stranger no less!

"Good morning… Gerald?" Donny blinked watching the older male rush past him with a troubled expression on his face. "Sensei, what happened?" He asked when Splinter came walking up to him.

"I believe Gerald-san revealed something he didn't want anyone else to know…"

"Yo, Gerald, what's up?"

The retired bounty hunter stopped short when Mikey suddenly walked out in front of him. "Beat it, kid, I don't feel like chatting right now." He went to go around the turtle, but Mikey moved to block him. "I said, move it." Gerald's patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Aw, why not, I wanna get to know you better." The orange bandana clad turtle was beginning to regret stopping the retired bounty hunter as he saw the other was starting to get irritated. "Um… you want something to eat?"

"No. Thank you."

"I know, how about –?"

All of a sudden Gerald grabbed the turtle by edge of his plastron, lifting him so he was barely standing on the tips of his toes. "For the last time, get out of my way!"

A soft squeak escaped Mikey's lips as he stared up at Gerald, his eyes going wide. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Yo, let go of my little brother!" Raphael growled, Sais in hand.

Growling softly, Gerald immediately let go of the younger turtle, Mikey running past him. "No need to draw your weapons, Raphael… I wasn't going to hurt the kid. Anyway, I was just about to go out to get some fresh air." With that, he left the lair, the red bandana clad turtle staring after him.

Raphael turned to see Bryan standing in the doorway of his room, a forlorn expression on his face. Averting his gaze he quickly went after Mikey to see how he was.

"He is a very troubled man…" Splinter suddenly said.

"Master Splinter, I can't believe you would allow this man to stay in our home after that!" The turtle turned to look at his father frowning.

Splinter sighed. "I seem to remember you doing a lot worse when angered."

"But – but… sensei…" Raphael stopped short when the elderly rat gave him a look and the turtle sighed.

"We just have to give him time; his wounds are far deeper than I first suspected…"

"Okay, father, I will trust you on this. Now if you will excuse me, I have to attend to something." With that, Raphael went to find Bryan and Mikey.

* * *

Gerald was back in his apartment placing some clothes and other necessities in a bag. He sighed; he had let his temper get the better of him – again. When he had let that disgusting bit of his past slip out to the rat all he wanted to do was to get out of there as fast as he could and when that turtle had gotten in his way his anger at himself was left to build up and turn its attention to the other and finally blow up. He hadn't meant to hurt Mikey, he just wanted him out of the way; just wanted to go where he could reorganize his thoughts and calm down.

And Raphael, he didn't blame the older turtle for being defensive of his brother. Gerald was a stranger in their home and seeing him practically assault one of their own… well, he had ever right to be angry.

When Gerald was done packing, he slung the bag over his shoulder. If he didn't get back soon, he was sure Bryan would come after him. Taking a deep breath, he began his trek back to the lair. He was certain he wouldn't be getting a pleasant welcome back.


	4. Can I Take a Look at Your Arm?

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 4

When Gerald got back, the first person to greet him was an angry Leonardo. "I don't know why Master Splinter allows you to stay here, but if you harm any of my brothers—!"

"I understand," the older male interrupted. "I regret I lost my temper but I promise you, it will not happen again." He bowed to the other.

Looking at Gerald warily, the blue bandana clad turtle said, "Let's hope so… for your sake." With that he left.

"Gerald, why don't you come to the dojo to meditate with me?" Splinter said, suddenly appearing. "It will help you to center your mind and spirit."

The retired bounty hunter sighed and ran his hands through his hair tiredly. "Very well… sensei…"

The elderly rat smiled warmly at that and he led Gerald to the dojo.

---

"You sure you're okay, bro?" Raph asked as Bryan clung to the orange bandana clad turtle.

"Y-yeah… just a bit shaken up, that's all. I guess it's partially my fault…"

"I'm really sorry about all this," Bryan said, guilt in his voice. "Gerald just… loses his temper sometimes. He doesn't mean to, really! He's just… a much damaged person like me…"

Raphael sighed. "It's okay, Bryan." He ruffled up the boy's hair earning a smile from the other. "But if he gets out of hand again I'll have to rough him up a bit." Suddenly something dawned on him. "You made him leave behind his gun at his apartment, right?"

Bryan nodded his head. "That and his cigarettes… I also made sure to go through his stuff to make sure he didn't sneak any in while I wasn't looking. Found and disposed of two packets."

Mikey sweatdropped, and looked at the neko-boy. "You sure are thorough. How bad of a smoker is he? I mean… he won't get too upset about having to go a week without smoking." The youngest turtle didn't want to run into a grumpy Gerald and nearly get his head bitten off again.

---

Gerald sat, after Splinter had showed him how, in a lotus meditation position. Several times he peeked in Splinter's direction, completely no sound coming from the elderly rat. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't seem to find peace of mind as the rat had put it.

"Focus on the task in front of you, Gerald-san," Splinter said without opening his eyes when Gerald once again turned to look in his direction.

He sweatdropped; how did he know?? Gerald sighed. "I can't… I just… I just can't… I'm not cut out for this peaceful stuff."

Splinter opened his eyes to look at the other. "Just think of something that makes you happy; a memory, a person, an object – anything and focus only on that one thing. Then you will find your peace of mind."

"Something that makes me happy… Okay, I'll try." Relaxing, Gerald thought of the one and only person that had brought any peace to his small, meaningless life. At first it was blurry, but as he continued to concentrate the picture became clearer. Soon, he had the picture of a young girl with short black and white stripped hair, light peach skin, and large blue eyes in his mind. _Karill…_

Splinter watched as Gerald slipped in to a meditative stance. _It worked, I'm glad. _Letting out a sigh of relief he went back to his own mediation.

Donatello watched from the entrance of the dojo. He had meant to go talk to Gerald and ask him about his robotic arm, but when he spotted the retired bounty hunter he had lost all his nerve. Why was it so hard for him to just talk to the other? Was it his size? He **was **well over six feet tall. Was it his scars, the intimidating way he strode with such dominance and strength? His eyes were drawn to the mechanical arm. Oh how he wanted to tinker around with that thing. How he just longed to see how it ticked.

"Yo, you want me to get a bucket for you or something?"

The genius turtle whirled around in surprise to see Raphael looking at him, an amused smirk on his face. "Wha-what? I wasn't doing anything!"

"Yah-huh… so you weren't staring at Gerald's robot arm and practically drooling buckets, eh?"

"Huh?" Donny reached up, eyes widening when he discovered he had in fact been drooling slightly. Blushing he wiped his mouth embarrassedly, the older turtle chuckling softly. "So, what are you doing here anyway? Weren't you with Bryan and Mikey?"

"Yeah, but the kids wanted a little alone time"

"So you decided to come and tease me, then?"

Raph chuckled again. "No, actually I was looking for Gina. Finding you pining for Gerald's arm was just a bonus. I swear Don, it's like you're in love with technology. You even passed April up for the stuff."

Don didn't reply to that and he glanced back at Gerald. "Do you think he would let me take a look at it?"

Raph arched a brow at his younger brother. "You still are talking about his arm, right?"

The genius turtle turned to look at the other in surprise. "Of course I am! What else would I be talking about??"

"Nothing, nothing, don't have a cow, Don." He turned to leave. "But you weren't looking at his arm when you said it."

Donatello's face turned a bright red as Raphael left, laughing hysterically. _Why that good for nothing… How dare he imply such a thing! _He turned around only to end up bumping in to something soft. Slowly looking up, he found himself staring up at Gerald. "G-gah!" He jumped back, eyes wide.

"You know… being blind my other senses have heightened. Taste, smell, touch… hearing…"

Donny sweatdropped as he stared up at the other. "Oh… how fascinating…"

"If you wanted to know more about my arm, all you had to do was ask. I'm willing to answer any questions just as long as they aren't too personal."

The genius turtle let out a sight of relief. "Um, why don't we take a step in to my lab then?"


	5. Conducting a Few Tests

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 5

"This is fascinating," Donny said as he tinkered around with Gerald's robotic arm sitting in his swivel chair, the other sitting across from him on one of his examination tables. He had opened up one of the panels and was now poking and prodding around with the circuitry inside. "Are you sure you don't have the schematics for this?" The turtle glanced up at the retired bounty hunter.

He shook his head. "No, I already told you they're still in the Alchemy universe. Besides, what would I be doing with a bunch of… schematics?"

"I still can't believe there's a universe where Alchemy is practiced daily and where there are other Homunculi like Bryan. And – and you say a man named Scar blew your arm off by just touching it?"

Gerald sighed, sweatdropping. "Yep, that's the whole gist of it." He waited patiently as Don continued to examine his robotic arm, occasionally hearing the sound of the turtle scribbling something down. "What are you doing?"

The genius turtle paused, looking up from his note book. "Oh, I'm just writing down observations; this information may prove useful in the future."

The older male chuckled softly. "I feel like a guinea pig… you almost done there, techno-genius?"

"Almost… just one more test," Don said, placing the panel back in place. Turning around he fumbled around for something in a pile of gadgets. Finding what he was looking for, he turned back to Gerald holding a pen like object. "Now, tell me if you feel anything when I do this."

"Wait… what are, you going to – ow!" He flinched when he felt a sharp pain in one of his fingers on his robotic arm. "Fuck! What was that?!" He tried to pull his arm away but Donny held it in place.

"Sorry about that, I just wanted to see if you had feeling at all."

"You could have just asked!" There was an indignant tone in Gerald's voice.

"Yes, but it wouldn't have been as fun." Donny chuckled softly when he earned a soft growl from the other. "Well, I'm satisfied. I'll just need to put this away and –." The purple bandana clad turtle stood up and went to put the small device away when he suddenly tripped over something, falling flat on his face. "Ahh –!"

"Donatello!" Gerald got up, rushing to the other's side. "Are you okay?"

"Ow, ow, ow… I-I think I hurt my foot…" Looking down, the turtle saw the area near his ankle was beginning to turn red and puffy.

---

Gina and Raphael were in their room, doing what couples usually do when alone when they suddenly heard a crash and panicked cry come from the direction of Don's lab.

"Oh no, I think that was Donny!" Gina said a worried expression on her face. "I'm going to see if he's alright."

"I'm coming with you," Raph said, following her as she got up and rushed to the lab. "If it's Gerald's fault, I'm going to give him such an ass-kicking he won't know whether he's coming or going!"

When they reached the lab Gina and Raph ran in to Leo who placed a finger against his mouth in a shushing motion, then led their attention to inside the room.

"Ah, ah… s-stop Gerald, your robotic arm cold!"

"Quit squirming Donny, I'm trying to make it feel better!"

A moment of silence before, "I-it does feel good… W-wow Gerald, you're really good at this." A soft moan.

Gerald chuckled. "You seem a little tense, is this your first time?"

Not being able to take it much longer, Gina, her face a bright red, burst in to Donny's lab shouting, "What the hell is going on in here?!"

The purple bandana clad turtle and Gerald looked up at the other in surprise. Don was sitting on the floor, his leg propped up on the retired bounty hunter's lap as he gently massaged his hurt foot.

"Donatello hurt his foot, so I'm massaging it for him," Gerald said matter-of-factly. "Why, what did you think was happening?"

Leo and Raph walked in after Gina, staring at the scene in front of them feeling more than just a bit embarrassed.

Gerald stood up and said, "You should probably get that foot bandaged up… just in case." Walking up to others, he turned to look in Leo's direction. "And you, it's not polite to eavesdrop on other people." With that, he left.

"Um… I'm going to help Donny…" Gina said, before quickly going to the injured turtle's aid.

"Leo?" Raph turned to look at his older brother.

"Don't say it!" The blue bandana clad turtle said before the other could say anything. "You think I'm just being paranoid… maybe I am… but there's just something about Gerald that makes me feel uneasy. Is it wrong to want to protect my family?"

Raph shook his head. "No, it's fine, bro. Just, don't go overboard, okay?"

"He really isn't such a bad guy once you've talked to him," Don said as he limped slightly up to the two, his foot now bandaged up. "The adventures he's been on in his life are amazing!"

Leo looked at his younger genius brother smiling slightly. Donatello was always so trusting and understanding. He was always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt. And that's what worried him about the other. He couldn't stand if Gerald used that to take advantage of the genius turtle. If he showed any signs of hurting Don, Leo would make sure he was there to defend this younger brother.

"Yo, dudes and dudette, lunch is ready!" Mikey suddenly announced poking his head in to the lab. "Whoa, Don, what happened to your foot?"

"I'll tell you about it later, Mike," Don said, placing an arm around the orange bandana clad turtle's shoulder. "Right now, I'm starved."

"What did you make this time, Mikey?" Gina asked, grabbing on to the turtle's arm as they left the lab.

"It's a surprise!"

Raph was about to follow the others when he noticed Leo was still standing in the same spot, a contemplative look on his face. "Yo, bro, you coming to eat?"

"Go on ahead, I'll be there in a sec," he said, waving his hand at the other dismissively. _A person like Gerald… there should be some information about him on the Internet… _


	6. Reoccuring Nightmare

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 6

_**It was a warm, sunny day and Gerald found himself in a field out in the country. Looking around, he spotted the old cottage his family used to own. He could remember when they would come out here in the summer to get away from the city.**_

_**"Chase me brother!" **_

_**Turning around his breath caught in his throat when he spotted the girl he had pictured in his head when he was meditating. "Karill…?" **_

_**She giggled. "Come on brother, have a little fun! It's such a beautiful day!" She twirled around, he pink sundress billowing around her and she laughed with childish glee.**_

_**The sound was like music to Gerald's ears and he couldn't help but smile at his baby sister. "Come here you."**_

_**"Nope, you're going to have to catch me first!" she said before running off.**_

_**He shook his head, chuckling softly. "You will never change…" He said to himself before chasing after her. It wasn't too hard to catch up to her because in only a matter of minutes he had Karill embraced in his arms. **_

_**"Oh no, I've been captured!" Karill exclaimed in mock surprise. **_

_**Staring down at her, Gerald held her close to him. "I'm never going to let you go, Karill… I won't let anyone hurt you…"**_

_**"Brother…?"**_

_**Suddenly everything around them became dark and Karill suddenly disappeared from Gerald's arms. "No… not this dream… not again…" He feared to turn around. He didn't want to see what he knew was coming next. But in dreams, you have no control and he found himself slowly turn around to see the cottage engulfed in flames. "No… Karill…"**_

---

Gerald woke up with a start, panting and covered in a cold sweat. Why? Why was he always plagued with that dream?

"G-Gerald?"

He jumped when he heard Donatello's voice come from beside him. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I heard you crying and whimpering and I came to check to see if you were alright. Were you having a bad dream?"

Gerald sat up, groaning softly. "I-it's okay… I'm fine, so you can go back to bed. Sorry for disturbing you." He got out of bed, pulling on some jeans and boots.

"Where are you going?" Don watched as the other began to rummage around his bag for something.

"Outside, I need a smoke… damn it where are they?" He sighed, giving up and left the room.

"Hey, wait!" Don followed him as he headed for the sewer tunnels. "I'm coming with you!" The turtle nearly ran in to Gerald when the older male suddenly stopped short.

Turning around he looked at the purple bandana clad turtle. For a moment he was quiet then sighing he said, "Very well, but no talking."

---

Once outside, Gerald sat on the edge of the building, staring out in to the night. Even though he was blind, he could picture what the city looked like in his mind as if he were really seeing it. It was a cold night, but even though the older male was shirtless he didn't seemed bothered by it.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Don asked, sitting next to the other looking at him worriedly.

Gerald shook his head. "I don't want to burden you with my troubles. It's my own problem so you don't have to deal with it." He didn't want to drag the young turtle down. If he told him the truth… well, Gerald wasn't planning on doing that any time soon. He made a movement as if to take a drag from a cigarette only to remember he didn't have one and clenched his hand in to a fist, placing it on his lap.

There was a moment of silence before Donny spoke up again. "But I want to help. It's not good to keep it bottled up. At least tell me what the dream was about."

"I said I don't want to talk about it, alright?!" Gerald sighed, running a hand through his hair and he softened his tone saying, "Just… forget about it okay? It's just better this way. Now why don't you go back to the lair before the others find you missing and think I kidnapped you or something."

Don glanced to see the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. "Will you be back in time for breakfast?" When he didn't get a reply from the other, the turtle sighed and made his way back to the lair. But on his way, he suddenly heard a cry for help. Stopping he looked around to see where it came from when he spotted a woman backed against the wall, a man with a gun approaching her.

"No one's going to come to your rescue so you might as well just give me what I want."

"Please, someone… anyone… help!"

"Hey, back off pal!" Donatello jumped down, knocking the gun from the low-life's hand, and then drop kicked him to the ground. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

"L-look out!" The woman cried, pointing behind the turtle.

Don turned around just in time to see a man coming out of the shadows, a gun pointed at him. _Damn… and me without my Bo Staff… _He flinched when gun shot went off. He blinked when the gunman suddenly fell over. That's when he saw Gerald, his gun smoking.

The woman shrieked running away and the second guy frantically scrambled away.

Shaking slightly, Gerald leaned against a wall, sliding down in to a sitting position. He made a motion to take a drag of a cigarette then cursed silently, placing his hand against his face. "Are you okay, Donatello?"

"Y-yeah… thank you…" The purple bandana clad turtle knelt beside the retired bounty hunter. "What about you? You seem a bit shaken up."

"I'm fine… just need a smoke really bad. Y'know… even after twenty years… taking someone's life still unnerves me." Gerald laughed nervously. He flinched slightly when he felt Don's hand on his shoulder.

"We should get back to the lair before the police arrive."

The older male nodded and Don helped him back on to his feet. "Lead the way, techno-genius," he said as he placed his gun in the back pocket of his jeans. "What do you think the chances are of getting back before the family guard dog wakes up?"

Donny laughed when he realized the other was talking about Leonardo. "Very slim," he said as they made their way back to the lair.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."


	7. Gerald's Demons

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 7

When Gerald and Donatello arrived back at the lair, everything was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the soft breathing from the others' rooms where they were still asleep. Maybe they had made it back before Leo got up after all.

They were sneaking past the dojo when a voice from inside suddenly asked, "Where did you two go earlier this morning?"

Don groaned when a candle in the dojo was lit, revealing a non-too-happy Leonardo. "Gerald just went out to get some fresh air and I joined him."

Leo stared at the genius turtle, and then turned to look at Gerald, who remained silent. "Did something happen, Gerald?"

"I just had a bad dream and I needed to clear my head, that's all. Now would you stop the interrogation already?" He grumbled softly to himself as he headed to the bathroom to get washed up for the day.

Donatello sighed, looking after the older male and then he turned back to Leo. "Are you ever going to trust Gerald? If you would just stop being so paranoid and just get to know him, you'd realize he's really a good person. I'm going back to bed."

Leo watched the purple bandana clad turtle leave, sighing. It had been several days and he still hadn't found any information on Gerald. Most of what he looked up was classified or password protected and he wasn't a techno-genius like his younger brother so he couldn't hack in to the files. There had to be a way… but what?

---

Gerald was in the shower; his head leaned against the wall as he let the water wash over him. Leo knew; he didn't know how but Leo knew about the demons the retired bounty hunter hid away; the demons that broke free of their cages every time he closed his eyes to sleep. Every time Gerald was with the blue bandana clad turtle, he could feel the other looking inside him to see those demons.

It would be only a matter of time before he would unveil those demons and he would be forced to flee… to hide away in the darkness once again. But he should be used to this by now. But at the thought of Donatello learning of those demons made the retired bounty hunter's chest ache with a strange pain. He wanted to continue to hear the turtle's soft, understanding tone, feel his gentle touches and listen to him talk of his hope to better the study of science. He didn't want that to be poisoned by the demons. But he knew he would never get his way. Like always, he could never have a happy life.

Turning off the shower, he slowly stepped out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. Then he grabbed a second towel and began to dry off his hair.

"Hey, Gerald, breakfast is almost ready!" Bryan exclaimed poking his head in the door completely unfazed by the fact Gerald was practically naked if not for the towel around his waist.

"Okay, I'll be there in a second," the older male said as he tried to brush his unruly hair.

"Ooh, you want me to help you with that?"

He was trying to brush his bangs over his eyes when Bryan said this and his eyes went wide with terror. Bryan… doing his hair? An image of him with frilly, pink bows popped in to his head. "N-no, that's okay. I can do it myself."

"Nonsense," Bryan stated, entering the bathroom, closing the door behind him the click of the door being locked could be heard. "Now, what do you think? Braid, or pig tails?"

"Hey, morning Gerald, I heard you and Donny snuck out earlier this morning. What were you—?"Gina stopped short when she looked up from the newspaper she was reading to see Gerald walk in to the kitchen, his hair in braided pigtails a big grin plastered on Bryan's face.

"Don't. Say. A word."

Mikey, Raph, Don, and Gina exchanged glances then all four friends cracked up laughing.

"Here, let me offer you a seat, ma'am!" Raph laughed, sliding a chair out and offering it to Gerald.

The older male growled, his face turning a bright red. "I'll get you for this, Bryan." Reaching up, he freed his hair from the braids, shaking it out so it was back to its normal, unruly self. Then he sat down, Mikey setting a plate of eggs, bacons, and toast.

"So, what were you guys doing out so early in the morning, hmm?" Gina asked once everyone had calmed down.

"Nothing. Nothing happened. Now let's drop the subject." Gerald grabbed his fork and began to eat without another word.

Gina blinked then turning to Donatello asked, "Come on, Don, what happened?"

The purple bandana clad turtle blinked, then turned to glance at Gerald who had paused from eating to look at him. "Nothing… Gerald just had a bad dream and went to get some fresh air. I just happened to join him. Leo's just being overprotective, that's all."

"A bad dream? What was it about?" Mikey sat down at the kitchen table, staring wide-eyed at Gerald.

"I don't want to talk about it… Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to meditate with Master Splinter." With that he got up and left the kitchen.

"What's up with him?" Raphael asked, staring at barely touched plate of food.

---

Leonardo was surfing the Net on Donatello's computer when he suddenly got an instant message from someone with the screen name "LordOfDarkness666".

"So, you want to know information about Gerald?"

The blue bandana clad turtle stared at the message in awe, then looked around to make sure no one was around. He typed back, "Do you have any?" He pressed the send button and waited anxiously for the response.

"Heheheh. I know everything about him; even the things he would rather keep secret from you and your family."

"Tell me."

---

Leo suddenly entered the kitchen and said, "Time for morning practice."

Gina, Raph, Don, and Mikey got up, heading for the dojo but when Bryan went to follow, Leo stopped him. "Not today, Bryan; why don't you, go meditate with Master Splinter and Gerald?"

Bryan blinked, staring after the other in confused shock. _What the…? What's going on?_


	8. A Lie

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 8

"Bryan, why are you not with the others for morning training?" Splinter asked when the younger male entered his chambers where he and Gerald were meditating so as not to be disturbed.

"I-I don't know… Leo just told me to come meditate with you guys instead. He seemed pretty serious about something."

_This doesn't make sense… Leo always lets, Bryan train with them… what could have— _Splinter stopped short in his thinking when he suddenly saw Gerald stand up. "Where are you going my son?" The elderly rat considered Gerald as one of his own now.

"I'm just going to see what's going on…" As he approached the dojo, he stopped short when he heard raised voices from inside. Being as quiet as he could, he listened at the entrance.

"I can't believe Gerald would do such a thing!" Don cried distress clearly evident in his voice. "Who told you this?!"

"Let's just say, I got it from a reliable source. You see? I told you there was something suspicious about him! I told you he wasn't to be trusted! Now we have a-a murderer in our home!"

Gerald's breath caught in his throat at Leo's words and he quickly barged in. "What's going on? What did you tell them?!"

Mikey, Raph, Don, and Gina glanced up at the retired bounty hunter in surprise; the only one that didn't seem unfazed by Gerald's appearance was Leo.

"G-Gerald… dude, tell us it isn't true…" Mikey stammered.

"Yeah, you-you didn't really kill your own sister, did you?" Raphael was the next to speak up, staring at Gerald in a mix of fear and disgust.

Gerald felt dizzy as he grabbed on to the edge of the wall to keep from crumpling to the floor. "Wh-who told you this…?"

"So, it's true then…You-you killed your little sister?"

The older male turned to look in the direction Donatello had spoken. "I did—didn't want you to-to know…" He placed a hand against his face, shoulders shaking. He felt sick to his stomach. There went his happiness… there went his hope… and there went his will to live. He was just so tired; so tired of always hiding, of keeping the demons at bay, and of trying to have a happy life. "I-I gotta go…" He suddenly said and he ran off.

"Gerald, wait!" Don went to go after him, but the eldest turtle stopped him.

"Let him go…"

"I don't care what he did in the past, Leo! He's still my friend!" The genius turtle tried to get away from the blue bandana clad turtle's hold.

Just then, Bryan walked in to the dojo. "Gerald didn't kill his sister."

"What? Bryan, did you know about this? Why didn't you say anything?" Don turned to look at the younger male.

"Because, it wasn't my place to tell you… Whoever gave you that information, Leo, lied to you. Let me tell you the story… the **true** story."

* * *

After Bryan was done telling the others what had really happened, Leo placed his hands over his face, shaking. "I… I can't believe it… I feel like scum…"

"You didn't know, Leo…"

"No… that's not a good enough excuse; I was so sure Gerald was guilty… I just wanted to protect my family… I'm so sorry." Leo felt angry with himself. How did he get like this? Why had he become so obsessed with proving Gerald was evil he believed some stranger on the computer? One thing was for sure; he certainly hadn't been himself.

"We'll forgive you later, Leo, right now we have to find Gerald and make sure he's alright," Bryan said. "Some of those scars he has… are self inflicted."

"What??" Don looked at Bryan in terror.

"I had gotten him to stop but a few years back, every now and then he would go through a guilt spell and self mutilate himself. I'm afraid he might hurt himself again… maybe even try to kill himself…"

As soon as the words left Bryan's lips, Donatello jumped up and ran out of the dojo before anyone could protest. He had to get to Gerald; he had to save him from himself.

---

Don went to the first place he suspected Gerald would go to; his apartment. When he reached the building, he entered through the window, scanning the room. "G-Gerald…?" As he made his way through the structure, he suddenly felt himself step in a puddle of something wet. Looking down, he gasped when he discovered it was blood. "Gerald?!"

The turtle ran through the apartment, eventually coming across the kitchen. "Gerald!" He ran over to Gerald who was laying face down in a puddle of his own blood. Upon closer inspection, he saw the retired bounty hunter had cut both his wrists. "No! No-no-no-no…!" He frantically reached down to inspect for a pulse and he sighed with relief to discover the older male still had one; although it was weak and getting weaker by the second. It seemed Gerald had barely missed the major arteries, but he had still lost a good amount of blood.

He got out his medical kit which he always carried around him and began to bandage up his wrists. "Come on, Gerald, don't quit on me now… Please…"

"What's the point…? The other suddenly moaned weakly. "You know about my demons… and now you hate me… Just do me one last favor and let me die?"

"Hate you? I don't hate you, Gerald. Bryan told us the truth… how you didn't kill your sister!"

"Yes I did! I failed to protect her when I promised I would! I don't deserve to live…"

"Karill wouldn't want you to die! She would have wanted you be happy! And… I don't want you to die either. You're the first person besides April to ever want to listen to me talk techno-geek… I love it when you help me in the lab and… I don't want to lose you, okay?"

Gerald lifted his head slightly and stared at Don silently. "O-okay…" Then he let out a shaky breath and lost consciousness.


	9. Dominick Returns

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 9

"My father abused me and my sister after our mother died..."

"And that's when you shot him?"

Gerald was in bed, Donatello sitting next to him. When he lost consciousness, the turtle had placed him there. It had been an hour before he woke up and he finally started to open up after much prying on the techno-genius's part.

The older male nodded. "The police reported it as self defense and I wasn't charged. They placed my sister and me in a foster home until I turned 18 and became her legal guardian. She and I went up to live in our summer cottage."

"Did-did you ever discover who killed your sister?"

"No… No one knew where my family cottage was except for my sister, my parents and me… To this day I don't even know how it burned down. No gas was found in or around the remains. If only I hadn't left her by herself. If only… I had been there to protect her."

"You know, you have to stop blaming yourself for that."

"But Don… I promised I would protect her… and, I…I failed her. I will forever carry that on my conscience. I vowed to find her killer, but I even failed that as well."

"Gerald… it's been twenty-five years, it's time to let it go." Don placed a hand on the other's shoulder.

Gerald took in a shaky breath, placing his face in his hands. "But I can't… I just can't, Don. It's so hard." His shoulder's shook as tears spilled down his face and a sob escaped him.

Don wrapped his arms around the older male in a hug and Gerald leaned his head against his chest, and just cried; cried like he had when he first lost Karill.

When he could cry no more, he just rested against Don, listening to his heart and feeling his chest rise and fall as he breathed. He hadn't had someone hold him like this since his mother. "You probably think I'm weak now…"

"No… I would never think that. You're just a person who's tried to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders for so long." When he didn't get a response from the other, Don looked down to see Gerald had fallen asleep. Smiling softly, he laid the other on his back then he did something he never thought he would ever do, he brushed Gerald's bangs to the side and kissed him on the forehead. Looking down at the retired bounty hunter sleeping he looked almost at peace. "No bad dreams for you…"

Suddenly the other smiled in his sleep.

---

Back at the lair, Leo paced back and forth in the dojo feeling guilt ridden. The others had gone off on one of their nightly patrols but he had opted to stay behind. After thinking back to his actions, he felt he had acted… off. Like he really wasn't himself.

"You know, I'm slightly disappointed in you, turtle."

Leo was brought out of his thoughts, looking up to see Dominick staring down at him. "Dominick, you're supposed to be dead!"

The demon laughed. "Did you really think Rage going super nova would really get rid of me? I admit, I did die, but an evil villain such as myself always has a back-up plan. You see, I placed an instant resurrection spell on me, so every time I die, I instantly come back in a secret spot. Unfortunately… it hurts like a bitch."

"So, what are you doing here? Come back for Bryan? Well, I won't let you even an inch near him!" The blue bandana clad turtle unsheathed his swords.

Dominick shook his head. "No, not Bryan… I was hoping you would have gotten rid of Gerald." 

Leo stared at the other in a mix of shock and confusion. "What? What do you have against Gerald?"

"He's an annoyance I want dead. I thought amplifying your distrust of him would have done the trick but… I see that was a failure. Even after I fed you that lie about him killing his precious sister would have worked. But I was a fool to think you were capable of doing anything useful."

"It was you? You—!" Leo paused and his eyes widened. "Wait… you… you were the one who killed Karill… wasn't it?!"

Dominick laughed. "Ah, yes, guilty as charged. You do have a sharp wit, I must admit."

Leo growled and lunged at the demon, only to end up crashing in to the wall when the other suddenly disappeared.

"Until we meet again… fearless leader!" Dominick's voice laughed and then was gone.

"Omigod, Leo, are you okay?" Bryan cried, running in to the dojo, the others behind him. "We just got back and then we heard a crash!" He knelt beside the fallen turtle, helping him up.

"Dominick… was here," Leo said, wiping away a small trail of blood that trickled from his nose. "He tried to use me to kill Gerald."

"Dominick? But Rage killed him, didn't he?" Raph stared at Leo in disbelief. "There's no way!"

"Well, he found a way… And I have some news Gerald might want to hear…"

---

"So… Dominick was the one who really killed her?" Gina asked in shock. "How terrible! And here Gerald has been blaming himself all this time!"

"Bummer, dude…"

"That bastard, I'm going to find him and kick his ass so hard, he'll have to take his shirt off to take a shit!"

"Raphael, I will not permit such language in this lair!" Splinter said, suddenly appearing in the entrance of the dojo.

"S-sorry, Master Splinter." The hotheaded turtle waited for the elderly rat to leave before he said, "I swear, he has super hearing or something."

"I heard that!"

"Well, we should go to bed and in the morning, we'll go look for Gerald and Don. Now, his apartment is on the West side, right Raph?" Leo turned to look at the red bandana clad turtle that nodded.

As they were all leaving the dojo to go to their respected rooms, Raphael grabbed Gina and hugged her close to him, and kissed her.

"Wh-whoa, what was that about, Raph? Not that I'm complaining… Raph?" She looked up at the turtle to see a solemn expression on his face. "What's wrong, love?"

"I don't ever want to lose you…" Raphael didn't want to go through what Gerald was going through. Thinking about it, it was very easy to lose someone you loved and he didn't want that to happen. He would make sure he would never lose Gina.

"Don't worry, I'm staying for a very long time," she reassured the other, caressing his cheek.

Smiling slightly, he kissed her again. "And I'll make sure that happens." Grinning, he lifted her up and carried her to their room.


	10. Donatello's Feelings

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 10

Don woke up to find himself in Gerald's bed. His eyes went wide and he sat up quickly, looking around to see Gerald was missing. "G-Gerald??"

"What is it?" The older male poked his head in the window, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Where have you been? Why am I in your bed??

"Don't worry; I didn't take advantage of you last night." He chuckled. "You fell asleep and when I woke up you were in an awkward position so I just put you in bed while I went to buy some smokes."

Donatello frowned and snatched the cigarette away from the other's mouth. "You shouldn't be smoking right when you're still recovering! Plus, you should be resting, not going out!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, mother. Next time I'll stay in bed like a good little boy."

"I-I can't believe you! You act like nothing happened last night! You nearly died yet you don't seem to care!"

Gerald blinked when heard the other sniffle. He walked over and placing his hand on Don's cheek he found it was wet. He sighed and placed a hand on his back, bringing him close to him. "I'm sorry…"

"Should we… give you some privacy?"

Don turned to see Leo standing in the doorway of Gerald's room, Gina, Raph, Bryan, and Mikey standing behind him. "G-guys!" He broke away from Gerald's embrace. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to see if you guys were okay!" Bryan exclaimed before glomping the turtle and clinging to him tightly.

"We're fine, Bryan," The genius turtle smiled softly, petting the neko-boy on the head.

Leo walked up to Gerald. "I'm… sorry for my earlier actions I—."

"It's okay… I thought about it and realized that your actions were because of Dominick's interference. There's no need to apologize especially to me. Dominick has been a pain in the ass ever since I can remember."

"Even still, I should have been more trusting of you…"

Gerald shook his head. "Just forget about it, kid." He patted the blue bandana clad turtle on the head.

Raphael laughed. "Leo a kid; oh man, that's rich!"

"I think anyone younger than me is a kid… kid." The retired bounty hunter smirked in Raph's direction.

Mikey giggled, placing an arm around the red bandana clad turtle's shoulders. "He got you there, Raphie."

"Shut up Mikey." Raph scowled at the other, pushing him away.

"Did you say Dominick?" Don stared dumbfounded at Gerald. "But… he's supposed to be dead!"

"We thought so too, but he's still alive. The bastard came to the lair last night and practically laughed in our faces." Leo didn't say how the demon had revealed he was the one who killed Gerald's sister. He figured if he told the other, the retired bounty hunter might try to do something stupid. So he kept it to himself, vowing to tell Gerald later.

Gerald sighed, and then said, "While you guys are here, I might as well make some breakfast. Mikey, can you please help me?"

"Sure!" Mikey grinned and followed the other in to the kitchen, leaving the others to glance suspiciously at Don who sweatdropped.

"So, what were you doing in Gerald's bed, Don?" Raph was the first to speak up.

"N-nothing!"

"Are you sure? Didn't seem like nothing to me." The red bandana clad turtle walked up to the other, grinning.

"Come on, Raph, stop teasing him already," Leo scolded the other lightly. "If he says nothing happened, nothing happened."

"Hey, it's okay if you like the guy, Don. We've all had our suspicions when you started spending extra time with him in the lab."

"Look, just because I don't jump on the first female that happens across my path like you Raph, doesn't mean I'm gay okay!? We're just friends—nothing more! So just get off my back!"

Raph's eyes went wide as the genius turtle pushed past him and out the door. He had never seen Don act like this before. "Guys, I believe we have a turtle in denial."

Gina hit him upside the head. "You can be such a jerk, you know that Raph?" She turned to go follow Don.

"Hey, I was just saying what was on everybody else's minds! Geeze."

When Gina found Don in the hallway she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't listen to Raph, kay? He's just a big jerk."

"I didn't mean to snap at Raph like that… I don't know what came over me… Maybe he's right… maybe I am gay and I'm starting to develop feelings for Gerald." Don groaned placing his hands on his head. "No! This isn't happening! He's practically twice my age and he has too much on his plate; this would just complicate things even more. I don't want to do that to him."

"So, you're just going to ignore it? Don, this isn't just going to go away on its own. Is that why you throw yourself in to your work; because you're afraid of your feelings?"

"I-I don't know… I have to things through…" With that said, Don left.

"Where are you going?"

"…To get some fresh air."

---

The purple bandana clad turtle was sitting on the roof top when Raph came up. "What do you want, Raph?" He asked without turning around.

"To… apologize… I was just kidding; I didn't mean to upset you like that."

"Did Leo or Gina put you up to this?"

"Well, I admit they chewed me out pretty bad… but that's not why I came to apologize. I felt bad after you left…"

Donny sighed. "Come here, Raph," he said, patting the ground next to him.

Raph sat down next to the genius turtle and looked at him.

"The reason I got so upset is because I think you're right. I didn't want to believe it at first; that I was gay, but… the more I thought about it, the more true it became. I mean, if Mikey's gay, why is it so hard to believe I could be too? Then I began thinking of Gerald… the way I feel when I'm near him… it all began to become so clear to me. But I-I just don't want to complicate what we have now; if I tell him how I feel, it could damage our friendship. I don't want that to happen, y'know?"

"Oh Don…"

The genius turtle shook his head. "Just forget I told you any of that, okay? Breakfast should be ready by now…" Getting up, Don retreated back in to the apartment, leaving Raph still sitting on the roof.


	11. Misunderstanding

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 11

"Hey, Gerald… what was your ex-wife like?" Mikey asked as he and the other set the table for breakfast.

The older male pondered for a second before replying, "She was a very strong willed woman. To tell you the truth, I was hired to kill her."

The orange bandana clad turtle's eyes went wide. "Whoa, really? Why were you hired to kill her?"

"She was a wanted criminal… a serial killer to be more precise."

By this time, Mikey had become glued to every word Gerald said. "A-a serial killer… no way…! What else can you tell me about her?"

Gerald chuckled softly. "She's Japanese and a half-demon and her name is Azura Nagomii."

Why was that name so familiar? The turtle thought for a moment, then his eyes went wide. "Wait a minute, isn't Dominick's last name—?"

"Yes, Azura is Dominick's younger half-sister. The two constantly fought with each other. He did many horrible things to her when she was younger… I guess it's a hobby of Dominick's to make people's lives miserable."

"What does she look like?"

Gerald dug inside his pocket and brought out a picture of a woman with black spiky hair, golden yellow eyes, ivory skin and elf-like ears. In the picture she was wearing a purple kimono covered in cherry blossoms. She wasn't smiling, but there was softness to her face that Mikey liked… almost motherly. Upon further inspection, he saw a slight bump in the dress.

"She was one month pregnant with our son when I took this picture," Gerald answered the turtle's unspoken question. "This was back when I still had my sight, though I had just begun going blind in my left eye."

"Do you ever miss her?"

Gerald sighed. "Sometimes… late at night. Even now, I find I still love her."

Unbeknown to the two, Don stood just outside the kitchen entrance, listening to their conversation. The purple bandana clad turtle felt a pain in his chest that he couldn't get rid of. _He still loves her… What chance would I ever have anyway? I can never tell him… not when I know he still has feelings for someone else… _Don slid down in to a sitting position, burying his face in his arms. _Why couldn't I have an easy life? Why did I have to fall in love with someone like Gerald? Why did I have to fall in love at all? Things would be so much simpler without love to mess things up._

"Yo, bro… what are you doing sitting on the floor like that?"

Don looked up startled to see Mikey staring at him, one brow arched questioningly. "Oh… uh… I just got a cramp! Yep, that's it! But it's all better now." The genius turtle quickly got up, plastering a fake smile on his face.

The younger turtle just stared at his brother skeptically. "Well… okay… um, could you tell the others breakfast is ready?"

"Yeah, sure!" Don quickly made his way to the living room where the others were sitting on the couch watching TV.

---

Raph was still sitting on the roof. Don had always been the shy quiet type; he would always spend hours on end working on his gadgets and inventions. Who would have thought the genius turtle was really struggling on the inside? All the teasing they gave him for not ever making the moves on April gave the red bandana clad turtle a sick feeling in his stomach. What if they were the ones that had made him like this? Made him afraid of his own sexuality?

He groaned, rubbing his head. It wasn't good for him to think so much; it was out of character for him.

"I must say your family has been the most fun to play with in years."

Raphael whirled around to see Dominick floating a foot away from him. "What the hell do **you** want?"

"Just enjoying watching one of your family members crumble. He certainly has strange taste in men… although; I must say he's certainly the type I like… soft-spoken, shy… compliant." A sadistic grin played across the demon's face.

Raph got to his feat, glaring at the demon. "If you dare go anywhere near my brother I'll –!"

"Oh no, I won't touch him, I promise."

"Yeah, like I'd believe any promises you gave me," the red bandana clad turtle scoffed.

Dominick chuckled. "And this is why I like you. But really, I swear on pain of death, I will not place one hand on your precious genius."

"Raph? You still up here??"

"Ah, speak of the devil. I must be going, see ya." With that, the demon disappeared in to thin air.

_I hate when he does that…_

"Hey, Raph, breakfast is ready," Don said, coming up to the other turtle. He blinked at Raph. "Anything wrong?"

The red bandana clad turtle shook his head. "Nothing, I'm okay. What about you? Are you – um – okay?" Raph shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah sure, I'm fine! Come on, we don't want to keep the others waiting." Don headed back in to the building, Raph following close behind him.

He didn't know what that demon was up to, or if he even had anything planned and he was just messing with his mind, but Raph wasn't about to let him hurt any of his family members; especially not Don.

* * *

After breakfast, the gang returned to the lair where Don could properly treat Gerald's wrist. The cuts were deep so he had to place stitches in.

"How long to I have to have these stitches in? They itch," the older male complained as the genius turtle was finishing up.

"For a few weeks or so…" Don didn't say anything else.

"You've been awfully quiet, Donatello… is there something wrong?"

"I'm fine… I'm going to be busy working on a few things in the lab so don't bother me, okay?" The purple bandana clad turtle got up, avoiding eye contact with the other and left the med room.

_Is he mad at me? _Gerald sighed and getting up, headed for the dojo to get a little exercise with the others. Hopefully it would help clear his mind.


	12. Dominick's Offer

A/N: Sorry for the late update, I had a bad case of procrastination-itis.

* * *

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 12

For days, Don had begun to avoid Gerald. Every time he would get near him, his heart would begin to beat faster and he couldn't think. So he decided to lock himself in his lab so no one would disturb him. He thought it was only his heart that was on the line. He didn't want his feelings to one day come out only to have Gerald ultimately reject him like the turtle knew he would.

Gerald stood outside of Don's lab, a "Do not disturb" sign taped to the door written normally and in brail. _What did I do to make you hate me…?_ He sighed. _He's been locked in that lab for three straight days. It's been more than a week since I moved in…_

"Gerald, my son, what is troubling you?"

The retired bounty hunter turned around, Splinter standing a few feet behind him. "Oh… I'm worried about Donatello… why he's locked himself in his lab. I think he hates me now. I did something terrible…"

"Come, some meditation will help clear your mind." The elderly rat placed a hand on the other's shoulder.

Gerald nodded and followed Splinter to his chambers. As he followed him, he began to think about that night after he had tried to kill himself.

---

_**Gerald groaned slightly, his body feeling heavy. Reaching down, he felt Don resting against him asleep. Slowly lifting the turtle up, he moved off the bed and gently placed him in his place. Looking towards the window, he could feel the warmth of the sun beginning to seep in. He was about to leave to get some cigarettes when he suddenly felt his arm being grabbed by Don and he looked back toward the other.**_

_**"Don't leave… please… I love… you…"**_

_**He hesitated, and then sat down beside the other. "Don't worry… I'm not going anywhere…"He leaned down, kissing the other gently and seconds later, the turtle was asleep.**_

---

So he had lied to the turtle when he said nothing had happened. Perhaps the turtle had remembered that and now felt uncomfortable around him? He **was **half asleep when he had made that confession… he might not have meant it in the way Gerald thought. He sighed again. The stitches would be coming out tomorrow. Perhaps he should leave then.

Dominick watched from the shadows chuckling after having read Gerald's thoughts. _So…that's what's going on, eh? I love a good misunderstanding; especially when you can make it even worse. _Laughing he disappeared to enact his evil plan.

Donatello was working on the designs of his next invention when Dominick snuck in to his lab. "I don't know what you see in him."

The turtle jumped startled and looked at Dominick in shock. "What are you talking about? What are you doing here? How did you get past the security system?"

Dominick chuckled. "I'm a demon; I can transport from one point to another without being detected by your silly technology. Anyway, I heard Gerald is leaving as soon as his stitches come out."

"R-really… why are you telling me this?" The techno-genius went back to his work. "I don't care."

The demon floated over to the other, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Really now, I'm sure you'll care that he's going back to his ex-wife, Azura. I don't blame him though; she has a body to die for and she can give him everything you can't."

Don stopped short, clenching the pencil in his hand tightly.

"I can sense your pain. You want so desperately to be loved, don't you? But you'll always just be the techno-genius of the family; the one who chooses gadgetry and schematics over love; the logical one who never gets distracted by such unnecessary feelings.

By this time the purple bandana clad turtle's shoulders were shaking as tears coursed down his face.

"But, I can help make all that pain go away," Dominick said, his face right next to Don's.

The turtle shivered slightly when he felt the demon's breath on his cheek.

Dominick placed his thumb and forefinger underneath the other's chin and turned Don's face so he was looking at him. "All you have to do is submit to me and I will give you everything you desire. If you stay here, you will just be miserable for the rest of your life."

Donatello stared at Dominick, tears still trickling down his face. There was something hypnotizing about the demon's eye that put the turtle in a trance-like state that kept him from pulling away. Don's breath hitched in his throat when Dominick suddenly began to lean forward as if getting ready to kiss him or bite him; he couldn't tell which.

Suddenly the door to the lab flew open and Gerald ran in, Splinter following behind him. "Get your filthy hands off of him Dominick!"

"My son…!"

Dominick frowned, then chuckled letting Donatello go, Splinter rushing to his son's side. "It's nice to meet the Gods' little errand boy again. I should have killed you when I had the chance. But of course, since you're protected by the Gods themselves, I can't lay a finger on you." The demon grunted in annoyance.

"What are you doing here; what do you plan to do with Donatello?" Gerald hissed, glaring at the demon.

"I believe, that's none of your business. Anyway, I must be going. Think about what I said, dear turtle." With that Dominick disappeared.

"Donatello my son, are you alright?" Splinter shook the other gently until he finally came out of his trance.

Don looked at his father, then he glanced quickly at Gerald, then back before saying, "I-I'm fine, father… I-I have to get some fresh air." He went to leave the lab.

"You shouldn't go out by yourself," Gerald said, causing the other to stop short.

The purple bandana clad turtle hesitated before replying, "I'll be fine, thank you." And with that, he left the lab, leaving Gerald to stand there silently.

"I am very worried about Donatello," the elderly rat said, frowning.

"Yeah… me too."


	13. Azura's Return

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 13

Don ran through the lair, ignoring his brothers' exclamations of surprise. He just had to get out of there. He couldn't stay in there for one second longer. When he reached outside and was on the nearest rooftop, he choked out a sob placing a hand on his face, which came back wet with tears. He's going back to his ex-wife. Of course, why would he be surprised? Gerald didn't love him. They didn't have anything. So why was he crying? Why did his chest feel like a weight was pushing down on it on the verge of bursting?

"It's called love."

Don whirled around to see a woman with raven colored hair, golden yellow eyes, ivory skin and elf-like ears. She was wearing a black halter-top, a pair of black leather jeans with a machete strapped to her thigh, and boots. "Wh-who, are you?" He asked, wiping away the tears from his face.

"Sorry for startling you like that." She bowed. "My name is Azura Nagomii, half-demon goddess of destruction and chaos. And what name do you go by, little one?"

Don's breath hitched in his throat. "M-my name is Donatello. Are… you here for Gerald?"

She looked back up at him, tilting her head to the side. "So, the old bastard is still alive eh? I thought he would have kicked the bucket by now. No, I'm here because there have been reports of Dominick being active again. I would have been here sooner, but I had a hell of a time finding this place. You travel enough dimensions and universes like me and you tend to lose track."

"What…? How can you, talk about your lover in such a way?!" Donatello suddenly felt himself getting angry

Azura frowned, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Lover…? We haven't been lovers for quite some time. I admit, I had feelings for him once but things have to end some time. Being a half-demon I live longer than the normal human. I realized this and decided to end the relationship."

"So you wouldn't have to deal with the pain of when he died?"

The other nodded. "Call me cold but it's the only way to protect myself. When you're someone like me you can't be held back by hindering emotions like that."

"But Dominick said…"

"Don't believe a single word that comes out of that demon's mouth. He has a terrible habit of lying and ruining other people's lives. It's a hobby of his."

"Ah, Azura you haven't changed a bit."

"Speak of the devil. Are you here to turn yourself in, Dominick?" Azura turned to look at her half-brother, crossing her arms over her chest.

Don could really see the family resemblance of the two.

Dominick laughed. "Why would I turn myself in to you, little sister? You're just a filthy hanyou with a filthy human father who seduced our mother. You obviously have the same soft spot for mortals like she did. I see you don't have your filthy mutt of a son with you. Is he somewhere screwing some pixies?" He laughed again.

Azura growled, pulling out her blade. "Shut your mouth, you fucking bastard!" She shouted, lunging at him and slashing him across the chest.

He winced slightly, stumbling backwards and placing his hand against the now bleeding wound. "So now you show some emotion. But you look tired. How bout you take a load off!" Pushing his hands forward, a gust of wind knocked the half-demon backwards, knocking into Donatello and slamming them both against a wall.

She groaned, rubbing her head. "Are you okay?" She asked, glancing back at the turtle.

"Y-yeah… I'm fine. Are you sure you can fight him?"

"Donatello, I've fought him before, I think I can handle it," Azura said, sounding slightly indignant.

"And how many times have you won against him??"

She hesitated. "I've won once; the rest were stale-mates. Of course that one victory was over a thousand years ago."

"Oh that's reassuring."

"Oh? Why don't you try and fight him then?"

Don glanced at Dominick who was busy healing his wound, then back at Azura. "No thanks, I'll let you take care of this." The turtle watched as the other got back up, striking at Dominick again. He wondered what he should do. He thought of sneaking away. Azura seemed like a strong person that could handle herself. As soon as he thought this, Azura suddenly came slamming against the wall next to him, her lip bleeding.

"Are you quite done yet?" Dominick yawned, looking down at his claws with a bored expression on his face.

"Maybe I should go for help."

Azura shook her head, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "No, I have this under control."

The turtle stared at her incredulously.

"Sh-shut up, I don't need Gerald's help! He'll just get that stupid 'I told you so' grin on his big stupid face!"

"I didn't say anything about Gerald."

Azura blushed embarrassedly and growled, "Just stay here and be quiet!" She jumped up, clutching her machete tightly and lunged at Dominick.

---

A half an hour later, Azura was back next to Don, her body covered in cuts and bruises. "I – can't – seem to – touch him!" She exclaimed in between pants of breath. "He has something – that's enhancing his strength, but I can't sense anything."

Donatello thought for a second then said, "Do you have anything technological?"

"Just my cell phone," the other said, reaching in to her back pocket and handing it to the purple bandana clad turtle.

"That'll work perfectly." Don suddenly began to take the cell apart, ignoring Azura's cry of protest, and taking out a pen-like device from his belt began to mess around with the wiring.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see if I can convert this in to an energy wave detector. I can use it to see what he's using as a power amplifier. Where ever the energy spikes the most is what he's using to get stronger."

Reassembling the cell, he held it up, pointing it in the direction of Dominick. At first it made soft beeps but when he pointed it at the demon's belt, the beeps became louder and faster. "Bingo! The gem on his belt is it!"

Grinning, Azura cracked her knuckles a fierce look of determination on her face. "Time to even the odds a bit."

* * *

A/N: Right now you're probably thinking "Omg where's Gerald?? You're getting off course!" Well let me assure you, Gerald will be coming back in the next chapter. Azura is important to the story for reasons I won't reveal at this time.

Mikey: Dude, we're not getting any screen time in these chapters. Bummer.

Don't worry, I'm thinking of my next fanfic which I'll make sure to give you enough screen time in.

Mikey: Woo!


	14. The End of Dominick

A/N: Do not compare Azura to Inuyasha, and especially not to Kikyo. -shudder- DO NOT make me hurt you.

* * *

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 14

Machete in hand, Azura lunged at the demon striking at the gem on his belt with all the force she could muster up. At first nothing happened and Dominick laughed.

"Just what exactly are you aiming at, little girl?" As he said this though, the gem began to crack and it shattered in to a hundred pieces. "No! Look what you've done, you little wench!" He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her in to the air. "I'm done playing games with you. It's time for you to die."

"No! Azura!" Don felt helpless as he watched Dominick began to choke the half-demon. If only the others were here… if only he had his Bo Staff.

Just then there came the ring of a gunshot and Dominick let go of Azura, crying out in pain and clutching on to his shoulder as blood spilled through his fingers. "Who?!"

"Am I late for the party?" Gerald asked, grinning gun in hand.

_Gerald… _Don stared at the other. He looked like a night in shining armor at that moment.

"G-Gerald…" Azura coughed as she got up, rubbing her throat.

The purple bandana clad turtle turned to see Azura staring at the retired bounty hunter, complete adoration in her eyes a slight blush appearing. _She still loves him._

"Azura?? So Dominick… you dare to lay a hand on her? What did I tell you would happen if you dare even go near Azura?!" Gerald clenched his fists, his eyes glowing white.

Dominick's eyes went wide. "No… you wouldn't dare use your Avatar powers here…!" The demon backed away, a look of terror on his face. He went to teleport out of there but before he could even move an inch, Gerald had already closed the distance between them and he grabbed him by the collar of his tunic.

"I don't think so. I may have been lenient on you before, but now it's the end of the road."

"No, you'll die if you use your Avatar powers!" Azura cried. "There has to be another way!"

Donatello's eyes widened in shock. "No…"

"I'm sorry… I'm going in to full self-destruct mode so you better get out of here and fast. I don't want you to get caught in the blast."

Azura nodded a look of defeat on her face. "I see you've made up your mind…" Tears were beginning to spill down her face but she tried to hide them. "Donatello we – Donatello stop!!" She cried, when she saw the other running toward the retired bounty hunter.

"NO! I won't let you!" The turtle cried throwing his arms around Gerald's waist, tears coursing down his face. "I won't let you give your life up like this! I don't want you to leave me… leave Azura when she still loves you!"

"Donatello… no… Get out of here. I have to do this! I don't deserve to live in this world. I don't deserve your friendship! I have to pay for my sister's death and this is the best way to do it."

"NO! It wasn't your fault! Dominick killed her! He killed your sister! Leo told me but – but he made me promise not to tell you! I'm sorry… I'm the one who doesn't deserve your friendship!"

Gerald's eyes went wide and the glow suddenly disappeared and he turned to stare down at the other. "Donatello…?"

Dominick saw this as an opening and he suddenly broke away from Gerald's hold and he grabbed the turtle. "Back away or I slit your precious turtle's throat," he hissed, his hand turning in to a blade and pressing it against Donatello's neck.

Gerald sighed, a sad look on his face as he backed away.

"Gerald… I'm sorry…" Don averted his gaze guilt ridden.

"It's okay. I know you only did it because you care."

Dominick laughed and pushing Don away, his arm suddenly shot forward, impaling Gerald in the stomach.

The purple bandana clad turtle turned back and stared in complete terror as he watched Gerald fall to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth. He had wanted to stop the other from killing himself to save him and Azura and ended up having Dominick kill him instead. Love had robbed him of his sense of reasoning. He hated himself for letting, himself be blinded by the horrible emotion.

Dominick laughed. "Don't you wish you had taken up my offer little Kappa? Now you both shall die because of your short-sightedness! " He continued to laugh when suddenly a Katana pierced his back coming out his chest causing him to retract his arm from Gerald, the retired bounty hunter falling to the ground.

"Nice shot Leo! But I think we're too late…" Mikey said.

Donatello looked to see the other turtles climbing over the edge of the building. "G-guys…"

Leo walked up to Dominick frowning. "Looks like its check and mate, Dominick. I won't let you harm my family any longer."

"What are you talking about? I'll just be back again! I'll always be back and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Leo shook his head. "I don't think so." Grabbing the hilt of his Katana he began to chant some sort of spell. When he was done, he pulled his blade from the demon causing him to grunt in pain, and cough up blood.

"W-what was that?" Don asked, staring at his older brother perplexed.

"That was the counter spell for the Instant Resurrection spell Dominick placed on himself. I've been doing some research," the blue bandana clad turtle said as he swiped the blood from his Katana. "Say goodbye demon."

Dominick's eye widened and with one last breath he fell over dead.

"Gerald… you stupid old fool…" Azura knelt over Gerald's fallen body, tears spilling down her face. "You just had to make me cry, didn't you?"

The retired bounty hunter chuckled weakly. "I am a bastard… aren't I?"

Don watched the two sadly. "Come on guys… we should leave…" He didn't belong here and it hurt to see how much Azura really loved Gerald. He clutched at his chest, that aching feeling coming back as he turned to leave.

"Donatello, wait…"

The turtle stopped short when he heard the other speak, and he turned to look back at Gerald.

"You're such a lovely shade of green… Like an olive…" Gerald's eyes looked clear for the very first time since he met Don. Just then he sighed and became completely still and his eyes faded back to gray.

Tears sprang to the purple bandana clad turtle's eyes and he ran over to Gerald's side, falling to his knees. "No… Gerald, come back…" He shook the other's shoulders frantically, Azura stepping back. "**Come back, I'm sorry! **Please… don't go… I can't live without you."

* * *

A/N: I love ending my chapters like this. It's fun to torture my readers. 


	15. All's Well That Ends Well

A/N: LOL I should have mentioned in the last chapter that the whole Avatar concept didn't come from "Avatar: The Last Air Bender". No. (Although I do watch the show.) I got the idea from Kikide's fanfic "Blended Family: Darkness and Light". I just put a slight twist to it according to my universe. Oh and the Bridger (Another one of Kikide's creations) makes yet another appearance.

* * *

"Misunderstood Guardian"

Ch. 15

"Hello again, noble Avatar."

Gerald stared at the Bridger sighing. "Good to see you again. This is – what – the third time I've been here?"

"Indeed. You have a terrible habit of sacrificing yourself for others."

The other just laughed. "You have no idea. So, are you going to send me back, or what?"

"Actually this time, the council has decided to give you the choice if you want to go back or not. It's coming close to choosing the next Avatar for your world. So what will it be? Do you want to retire early, or serve out your remaining time as Avatar?"

Gerald continued to stare at the floating entity then looked down. "What if – what if I chose to stay? Where would I go?"

"We would send you to your resting place where you live out the rest of eternity in peace and tranquility as all of the Avatars of your world have. Your sister and mother will be there."

The retired bounty hunter's breath hitched in his throat and he looked back up at the Bridger. "Can-can I talk to my sister before I make my choice?"

The Bridger nodded. "Follow me."

---

"Azura, you're a half-demon, can't you chant some sort of spell and bring him back?!" Donatello cried, practically shaking the other.

"I-I can't perform resurrection spells, I can only perform healing spells!"

The purple bandana clad turtle sighed. "You said something about Avatar powers… what was that all about?"

She sighed. "An Avatar is a person with great spiritual powers; a person chosen by the Gods themselves to carry out their wishes. They appoint one Avatar to each world; Gerald just happened to be the one they chose for this world. They used him to kill anyone who posed a threat towards them. They granted him powers but they were to only be used as a last resort as they would drain him of his life essence and he would die."

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do to bring him back?" Don looked down at Gerald helplessly.

Azura shook her head. "I'm sorry…"

---

"Gerald?" Karill stared at her older brother in awe.

"Sister…" Before Gerald could get another word out he found himself being tackled by the younger girl."

"I'm so happy to see you again! Has your Avatar-ship ended? Are you going to stay with Mom and me?" She stared up at him, eyes glistening with hope.

"Don't you hate me?"

She frowned, letting go of him and taking a step back. "What ever for, brother?"

"I failed to protect you. I let you die right in front of my eyes." As Gerald said this tears began to spill down his face.

"Brother… I love you no matter what. I know you tried your best to take care of me and I appreciated that. You protected me from father when Mom died. You made sure he couldn't lay a hand on me. And besides, we're together again. We have all of eternity to make up for the lost time."

Gerald lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry but… I can't stay." Before Karill could object he said, "I have someone else I have to protect now… someone I care deeply for." He looked back up his sister expecting to see her angry, but instead she was smiling warmly.

"I understand. I'm glad you're finally happy." She hugged her brother tightly. "But I'll be waiting for your return."

Reluctantly ending the embrace, Gerald turned to look at the Bridger. "I'm ready to go back."

"Very well, although we will be sending you back we can't heal your wound completely and you'll be in extreme pain for a few days. Are you ready to accept this?"

He nodded. "Bring it on."

---

"Come on guys, we have to get back to the lair. Splinter'll start worrying about us if we don't get back soon," Raph said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Azura suddenly stood up, brushing herself off. "I should probably get going as well. My son is probably worried about me."

"Are you sure you want to go?" Donatello looked sadly at the other.

"I'm sure. It was nice meeting you Don. I'm sure Gerald cared for you very much." She placed a hand on the turtle's cheek, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead. Taking a step back, she disappeared.

"We should give Gerald a proper burial and—." Leo was cut short when Gerald suddenly began to cough. "What the—?"

"Gerald?? I can't believe it! He's alive!" Don exclaimed, looking down at the retired bounty hunter.

"Honey, I'm home."

* * *

"So, they let you come back?" Don asked, applying a cold, damp clothe to Gerald's forehead as he rested, his stomach wrapped up in bandages. Like the Bridger had said, they couldn't completely heal his wound so the turtles had quickly rushed him back to the lair where Don had treated and bandaged up his wound and replace the precious blood he had lost.

Gerald nodded. "They gave me a choice whether I wanted to stay or go, but I decided to come back."

Donatello blushed, averting his gaze. "I'm sorry Azura left… you could have gone with her and –." The techno-genius was cut short when Gerald reached up and pulled him in to a kiss.

"What are you – a fool? I came back for you, Donatello. Sure, I may harbor some feelings for her, but it's over between us. I love you, you blind fool; always have."

The purple bandana clad turtle stared at Gerald, eyes wide. "G-Gerald… I love you too!" He hugged the other tightly, earning a pained grunt from the retired bounty hunter.

"Whoa, careful with the merchandise, Don; I'm still in pain y'know."

Don chuckled nervously, letting Gerald go and sitting back. "Sorry. It's still kinda weird… being in love and all…"

"You'll get used to it, trust me. Now go make me a sandwich, woman."

"Wh-what?? Why do I have to be the woman in the relationship?" Don cried out in disbelief.

Gerald sat up, leaning against his elbow. "Well, there's no way in Hell I'm being the woman since I'm practically twice your age and I've saved your ass more than once."

"I refuse to be the woman of the relationship. Don't make me take your arm apart!"

"You wouldn't dare."

Azura giggled as she watched the two argue from the shadows. Oh yeah, Gerald was definitely in good hands.


End file.
